Summit County needs two political parties, and the sooner the better. We as a society function better when we have reasonable options and this we do not have here. Don’t take my word for it concerning our Summit County one-party system, as the local websites of the Democratic and Republican parties speak for themselves.

The home pages of both parties are similar and yes, they both ask for donations upfront. Neither party says “please.” So far, so good, so American! They both want our money. And, given that every elected official is a Democrat (commissioners, sheriff, clerk, treasurer, assessor, coroner, state House and Senate, U.S. House, a couple of lawyers — attorney general and district attorney, and CU regent, in order of their website appearances), it is easy to determine their positions on various issues via a series of website clicks. It is more challenging to determine where the opposition party stands on any issues when there are no elected officials, candidates or position statements to be found.

Yes, it is only 2023, and our continuous election cycle won’t really kick in until after the Super Bowl, but it is never too early to review our choices. Why can’t the Republican party here — not in Washington or Denver, but right here in Summit County — put forth a candidate or two that can win an election at the local level? What’s wrong with running a fiscally conservative candidate who stays away from the social issue positions that are repugnant to many?  

With a bit of digging on the Summit County GOP women’s site, it is apparent why the current Republican party in Summit County will not prevail anytime soon. The issue concerns education and the party is spot on in placing its importance at the top of the hierarchy of issues at the local level. I would hope that all candidates in any and all elections would agree to the following declaration: “I want our children to succeed in school.”

The problem, of course, is how one defines “success.” While statistics can be read to support counter positions, it is apparent that one reading of current test scores supports the position that the Summit School District is not achieving “success” (based upon scores indicating that less than half of students are “meeting or exceeding expectations”). Of course, if these same test scores are getting better (i.e., less bad), that would support an argument for “success” as a mark of improvement.

In the August GOP newsletter, the following quote best summarizes the 10-page PDF: “We’d like to see SSD (Summit School District) get back to a focus on basic academics, transparency, and ethical fiscal management.” Absolutely, although I may question whether or not these principles have been abandoned and need to be reinstated or simply need to be moved to the front of the bus.

So where do we go from here? Had this monthly newsletter stopped on page five, I was ready to click the “donate” button. But it didn’t. It told me that if I wanted more information, I should seek out Moms for Liberty and Parents Defending Education. OK. Moms says it is “unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government”, while Parents says it is “working to reclaim our schools from activists promoting harmful agendas.” I’m on board with both so to speak, as long as both groups are on board with my answers to the following questions: 1. What parental rights? and 2. What is a harmful agenda?

In answering these questions, my research found that both Moms and Parents do not much care for discussing subjects including gender, ethnicity, slavery, indoctrination, racism, woke ideology, discrimination, LGBTQ rights and other left-wing propaganda, in no particular order of importance. And don’t forget Critical Race Theory, a nice term that neither those on the left nor right can define. I’m not even sure what I would be opposing (or supporting) in some of these categories. It does appear though that the answer both our Moms and Parents propose is to replace what they believe to be a left-wing ideology with a far-right-wing ideology.   

And this is why we need a viable second party in Summit County.

Had the Republican party stayed in the middle of the road (even if swaying a bit to the right), it would relate to many county parents (and voters). Yes, I and many others want fiscal transparency and responsibility, along with involvement of parents at all levels in regard to their kids academic and extracurricular activities.

Above all, we want students to be educated, but not with any political agenda (left or right). This means bringing up the good, bad and ugly of humanity, in whatever form it may appear, for students at an appropriate time (age) and place. After the current Republican party fades away into the void, maybe it can be replaced with a political party that borrows a bullet point from our current (but hanging on by a thread) Summit County Republican party and start its proclamation with the primary belief in “Equal rights, equal justice, equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, sex, age, or disability.” I would vote for this candidate, no matter the gender pronoun used. So would many others.

Scott M. Estill’s column “Challenges, Choices, Changes” publishes biweekly on Thursdays in the Summit Daily News. Estill is an attorney, author, and public speaker who lives in Dillon when not traveling or attending to legal matters in Denver. Contact him at scott@scottestill.com.